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Government of Aquitania
Aquitania is a Federal Monarchy ruled by a Hohensteinburg monarch, currently Kaiser Wilhelm VII. Legislative power is vested on the bicameral Reichsversammlung (Imperial Assembly), consisting of the lower Bundeskongress (Federal Congress) with 600 seats and the upper Dyranttag (Dyrant Diet). The Bundeskongress' seats are elected every 8 years in direct elections, while the Dyranttag's seats are not elected, but rather occupied by each federal state's respective monarch and chancellor. The Bundeskongress operates under a multi-party system and is presided by the Reichskanzler '''(Imperial Chancellor), which is determined by the party with the most seats or by Grand Coalitions, the current Reichskanzler is ''Helmut Hönfreuden. '' The Head of State is Kaiser Wilhelm VIII, which rules as Absolute Monarch, although the monarchy has given broad powers to the legislative ever since the 3030 Revolutions and the establishment of the '''Savoyischen Gesetzen (Savoyard Laws) in May of the same year. The Kaiser's First Minister and Head of Government is the Reichskanzler, elected every 8 years following the Bundeskongress elections. The Reichskanzler has to be approved by the Kaiser before officially entering office. 'History' 1500-1743 Throughout the centuries, the Aquitanian Government has shifted between despot absolutism and a parliamentary monarchy edging on constitutional. The first predecessor to the Imperial Government was established in the year 1501, following Unification. The Government consisted solely of the Kaiser and the Council and was referred to as the Kaiserstag, a meeting of all the rulers in the Empire that advised the Kaiser of their interests and issues. The Kaiserstag ''evolved by 1684 into the Dyrantstag (Dyrant's Diet), so called because Lord Dyrant of Kumberland persuaded Kaiser Richard III into reforming it to include the appointed Chancellors and selected Nobles of each respective State. Kaiserin Elisabeth further reformed it, tipping each state into the first glimpses of democracy in 1743, by declaring the Chancellor an elected official, although candidacy could be given only to persons of noble birth. '''1743-1928' The council remained largely unchanged until the creation of Parliament in 1799, this incorporated the already existing Dyranttag with a newly created Volkshalle (Hall of Commons), being the Upper and Lower houses respectively. The Imperial Chancellor was given presiding powers over the Volkshalle. The election system for the Volkshalle was complex though and in 1825 parties were allowed to be created to counter its inefficiency. The Federal National Party was the first party to be founded in 1826, followed by the Golden Party and the Market Hat Party, both of which no longer exist but where highly popular throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1927, closing defeat in the Great Five Years War, people rose up to demand further emancipation, Kaiser Richard IV gave women the right to vote, reduced the age of emancipation to 18 and allowed Chancellors to be common in origin. 1928-2389 The mid 20th century saw people hope for change in the absolute system, the Volkshalle regularly attempted to pass bills reducing the Kaiser's power to the level of a Constitutional Monarchy, the bills though, were always blocked by the Dyranttag. Progressive and very popular Imperial Chancellors held office throughout the 20th through 21st century, most of them common in origin, the first common Imperial Chancellor, Axel von Börnwitz, persuaded car manufacturing companies to create cheaper cars and created the Vehicle Boom, which indirectly lead to the construction of the Reichsautobahn system a few years later. These recurrent, popular and good Chancellors lead to the creation of the "Volks sind Besser" ('Common' People/Folk are Better) movement in 1998, which reasoned that the Commoner Chancellors have done a better job in Governing the country, hence, power should be handed completely to them. The movement grew in size and by the 2050's, it became a serious threat to the Status Quo. To mediate this, Kaiserin Morrigan decided to reform the Dyranttag in 2057 for the second time in its history, she created seats based on each state's individual population and made them elected positions, the reform was largely symbolic, as these Elected Delegates in the Dyranttag could be vetoed by each state's respective monarch or chancellor. The movement died out by 2070 and the people were satisfied with elected positions in the upper house. Anton the Great was another great reformer, eventhough he had to hand back thousands of acres of farming land back to the Landed Elite due to the Agrarian Reversal in 2096, he compensated the people with the creation of the Advisory Referendums in 2114. This gave people direct influence in some imperial edicts or important decisions. The Government remained largely unchanged until 2389. 2389-2467 The Arcadia disaster of 2389 killed a very large portion of the Volkshalle's delegates, subsequently triggering a political crisis. Immediate elections had to be called and the capital had to be temporarily moved from Arcadia to Draken while authorities dealt with the disaster. People rose up and blamed the Kaiser and the Dyranttag for orchestrating the destruction of the Volkshalle, the threat of Civil War was present and the Kaiser had to inevitably relinquish part of his power, creating the short lived Constitutional Monarchy that eventually lead to the 2467 Schism. Anton IV passed away before he could enact any of his pro-constitutional reforms promised to the people, a coup was expected, but Anton's successor Anton the Fifth passed the reforms as promised, creating the Bundeskongress, the successor to the Volkshalle. The country was stabilised, but the fact that the Kaiser was now powerless encouraged the Templarum to fill in the vacuum, the city encouraged the Vladian King, his Chancellor and delegates in the Dyranttag to support an Autonomy Bill for the City of Weissleuchte and the Bundeskongress supported and passed the bill, which was approved a year later in 2459 by the Imperial Chancellor. In 2467, Anton V died and his daughter Johanna succeeded him, she dissolved the Bundeskongress and suspended the Dyranttag when the Schism broke out. Then on a short lived provisional government attempted to rule the country, but was again dissolved by Johanna, the country would lack a government until 2809. 'Federal Government' The Federal Government presides over each state's individual Governments. 'Reichskanzler' The Imperial Chancellor is the First Minister of the Kaiser and thus the Head of His Majesty's Imperial Government, the Kaiser exercises his power through the Imperial Chancellor. The Reichkanzler is not elected, but rather appointed by the Bundeskongress, they are proposed by the majority party to the Kaiser. If a Grand Coalition was agreed upon, both majority parties vote for their leader and forward him/her to the Kaiser for approval. Currently, Helmut Hönfreuden serves as the Reichskanzler since 3238. 'Imperial Cabinet' 'Federal Ministries' The Reichskanzler and to a lesser extent, the Reichskanzlei, can appoint and dismiss Ministers at their discretion and at the final behest of the Kaiser. 'Ministry of Defence & War' The Ministry of Defence & War is charged with the Aquitanian Armed Forces and to guarantee their efficiency in times of peace and war. The Ministry is located in the New Chancellery Building in Altkott District, Königsberg. Its objectives are defence of the country's territory, guarantee territorial integrity and the execution of activities abroad that are in Aquitania's interest. The organ is unique in the fact that it handles its own Cabinet; the Military Cabinet, it handles appointments in the Army itself and other administrative and hierarchial purposes within the Wehrmacht. In addition, top Generals, Commanders and Admirals may attend the Military Cabinets. Military Cabinet 'Ministry of Finance' 'Aussenpol' Aussenpol is arguably the most important ministry in contemporary Aquitania, just as the Ministry of Defence & War was from 1830 to 2467. Today, Aussenpol has a very large cash reserve that it uses to project the Aquitanian Image abroad. Aussenpol is among the most prestigious Ministries to work in, the Ambassador posts specifically are the most sought after positions in the Empire. In the past, it was more prestigious and influential to serve as Ambassador to East Heaven than be the Minister of Aussenpol itself. Aussenpol is known for reaching out to foreigners and Aquitanians abroad, keeping visitors both in Aquitania and abroad highly informed of the situation in the country and situations in other countries. Aussenpol co-heads the Imperial Transport Authority and each city's respective Metropolitan Transport Authority alongside the Ministries of AIs and Transport & Superintendency. Aussenpol works closely with the Ministry of Defence & War, the Kaiser, Reichskanlzer and the Office of National Intelligence in a small council referred to as the Auswärtigesrat (Foreign Council). Aquitania is known for having a strong and decisive Foreign Policy. Category:Aquitania Category:Governments